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UW to Present Opera Double Bill

April 17, 2009 — The University of Wyoming Department of Theatre and Dance
will close its 2008-2009 season with two short operas for the price of
one: Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Medium," a harrowing tale of fake
clairvoyant in decline, followed by Giacomo Puccini's comic opera
"Gianni Schicchi," a satire on the "deadly sin" of greed inspired by a
line in Dante's "The Divine Comedy."

Directed by Vocal Arts Professor and UW Opera Theatre Head Larry L.
Hensel, the operas run April 24-25 and April 27-29 at 7:30 p.m. on the
Fine Arts Center main stage. Tickets cost $7 for students, $11 for
seniors and $14 for others. To get tickets, stop by the Fine Arts Box
Office, call (307) 766-6666, or go online at www.uwyo.edu/finearts.

Hensel notes that while the relationship between the two operas may
not be immediately apparent, they address similar themes. He says
Menotti's "The Medium" is the perfect companion to Puccini's comedy.

Originally commissioned by Columbia University in 1946, "The Medium"
ran on Broadway for 211 performances in 1947 at the Ethel Barrymore
Theatre, establishing Menotti as one of modern opera's foremost
composer-librettists. The production features guest artist Melissa
Malde, mezzo-soprano, from the University of Northern Colorado.

Audiences are advised that "The Medium" contains mature subject
matter, including scenes of child abuse and drunkenness, which some may
find objectionable. Two blanks will be fired during the production.

Second on the bill, "Gianni Schicchi" is the third of the trio of
Puccini operas known as "Il trittico" first performed at the
Metropolitan Opera in 1918. Puccini originally set the opera in Florence
at the beginning of the 14th century. The UW production updates the
setting to 1918, but the location is an apartment in Lower Manhattan's
Little Italy. The production also features guest artist David Hodel,
tenor.

"Setting this piece in Little Italy in the early 20th century has
allowed us to draw more connections between the two operas," says
Hensel. "Both operas take place in the same apartment, but while ‘Gianni
Schicchi' occurs just after WWI when Little Italy was in its golden
age, ‘The Medium' takes place 30 years later, after the area has run
down and is in a period of decay."

Photo
UW Department of Theatre and Dance performers rehearse for opera shows
that can be seen April 23-25 and April 27-29 at 7:30 p.m. on the Fine
Arts Center main stage. From left: Christina Pezzarossi, a sophomore
music performance major from Miles City, Mont., Melissa Malde, a guest
artist from the University of Northern Colorado, and Stephanie Medema, a
senior music education major from Minot, N.D.